International students bring cricket to UT

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - International students at the University of Toledo have brought the sport of cricket with them to Toledo to make themselves feel at home.

"(Our) major goal is to help new incoming international students from India as well as other countries too and improve the bonding and friendship," Vinay Mutthamseddy, a University of Toledo PhD chemistry student said.

While the game is unfamiliar in the states, players say it's not all that different from baseball.

"You hit a homerun, you have a strike, you have a pitcher, you have a batsman," Aditya Dahulubulu, a University of Toledo engineering master's student said.

90 athletes got together for a weekend of cricket right here in the Glass City.

"We only do it once a year, every start of the fall semester, but for the spring we try to do it indoor," Jay Patel, a University of Toledo engineering student said.

One major difference from baseball: the ball bounces toward the hitter.

"Once you get used to it, it's real easy to hit the ball, but it's mostly like same as baseball but it will, you have to time the ball," Patel said. "The timing has to be perfect to hit it out of the park or to get good runs."

The pitcher also gets a running start, which can be intimidating, the players say jokingly.

"Sometimes there is a scary look on it, like the grim face, but it's really fun because you see the ball come in with good speed and have to judge the timing of the ball and hit it and hope to get better runs on it," Patel said, laughing.